—Vanessa Edwards, B1Daily

For decades, Black women were told that burning our scalps, flattening our curls, and inhaling chemical fumes were just “part of beauty.” We were told it was normal. Necessary. Professional. What we weren’t told is that the same products marketed as self-care may be quietly putting our health at risk.

Here’s the uncomfortable truth: a growing body of research shows a clear correlation between long-term use of chemical hair relaxers and straighteners and higher rates of certain cancers—especially uterine cancer, which already kills Black women at disproportionately high rates. This isn’t about fear-mongering. It’s about patterns, exposure, and power.

Black women are not randomly overrepresented in these studies. We are the primary consumers of these products. Many of us started relaxers as children, used them every six to eight weeks for decades, and applied them directly to the scalp—often on burned or broken skin. That’s not casual exposure. That’s chronic, repeated chemical contact with one of the most absorbent areas of the body.

Many of these products contain or historically contained endocrine-disrupting chemicals—substances that interfere with hormones like estrogen. Hormones matter. They play a major role in uterine and breast cancers. When chemicals that mimic or disrupt estrogen are introduced into the body over long periods, especially starting young, it creates a biological environment where cancer risk can rise. That doesn’t mean every woman who relaxed her hair will get cancer. It does mean the risk is not theoretical.

What makes this harder to swallow is the context. These products didn’t just appear; they were aggressively marketed to Black women as a solution to a problem we were taught we had—our natural hair. Straight hair meant jobs, acceptance, safety, and sometimes survival. Meanwhile, beauty companies profited while operating in a regulatory system that barely requires proof of long-term safety for cosmetic products. In plain terms: the burden of risk fell on us, not them.

Let’s be clear about something else: this is not about blaming Black women for the choices we made in a society that punished us for making different ones. This is about informed consent. Most of us were never told there could be serious health consequences tied to these products. We were told relaxers were safe if used “correctly,” even though scalp burns were treated as normal.

And while some people rush to say “correlation isn’t causation,” that phrase is often used to dismiss women’s health concerns until the damage is undeniable. Correlation is how public health warnings begin. Lead paint, tobacco, asbestos—all were once defended with the same language.

What this moment calls for is not panic, but power. Power is knowing that choosing to step away from chemical straighteners may reduce long-term risk. Power is demanding stronger regulation, transparency, and accountability from companies that built billion-dollar industries on our insecurities. Power is recognizing that beauty should never come at the cost of our wombs, our hormones, or our lives.

Black women have always adapted, survived, and redefined beauty on our own terms. This conversation is not about telling anyone what to do with their hair. It’s about telling the truth: when a product category overwhelmingly used by one group is linked to higher cancer risk in that same group, that is not coincidence—it’s a warning.

And warnings exist so we can choose differently, louder, and better for ourselves and the next generation.

—Vanessa Edward is a developmental-behavioral pediatrician, community organizer, proud mother, and contributor at B1Daily